Tag: "TourismPolicy"

Travel Bureau Foundation (JTBF) organized ‘Tourism Resources Seminar’ particularly focusing on accommodation tax to give hints to local tourism organizations, introducing the accommodation tax with the fixed rate of 2% in Kuchan, Hokkaido as a case study.

Japan Tourism Agency requests several revisions in the duty-free rules to raise conveniences for inbound travelers and to reduce burdens on duty-free retailers, including abolition of the upper limit amount of 500,000 yen for consumable goods.

Japan Tourism Agency has requested a budget of 62.8 billion yen in total for FY2025, budgeting accommodation business revitalization and building of build a new duty-free shop model in local areas as new projects.

The Japanese government focuses on sending inbound tourists to local areas and avoiding over-tourism, forecasting record-high 35 million international visitors and also record-high travel spending of 8 trillion yen in 2024.

Leaders of Japan, China and South Korea agreed to increase exchange of people among the tree nations to 40 million by 2030, designating ‘Culture Exchange Years’ for the next two years.

Ministry of Justice of Japan has started issuing ‘digital nomad’ visa to a foreigner with annual income of 10 million JPY or more in about 50 visa waiver countries or regions

Japan Tourism Agency has selected 20 pioneer model areas and 51 general areas for prevention of over-tourism, such as ‘Niseko Model for usage of taxi’ in Kutchan, Hokkaido, ‘Equalization of crowd and ease of traffic jam’ in Hakone, Kanagawa.

Niigata, Toyama and Fukui Prefectures have decided to receive bookings for financial aid package on March 8 2024. The package will be applicable to travel from March 16 to April 26.

To support the Noto Peninsula Earthquake-hit regions, a travel discount program is launched for four prefectures, which will be available from March to late April before Golden Week period starts.

JTB CEO Eijiro Yamakita talked about the JTB’ s business focuses in 2024 and business environment surrounding the tourism industry, pointing out three challenges for the tourism industry: worsening labor shortages, technology support, and sustainability initiatives.

The Japanese government has decided to approve ride-sharing service partially in April 2024. Firstly, taxi operators can be a ride-sharing operators in particular local areas suffering shortage of taxies.

The Japanese government approved a policy package for measures against over-tourism with three pillars of manner eduction, more international visitors to local regions and joint tourism promotions with local communities.

Japan Tourism Agency classifies countermeasures against over-tourism as three concrete ideas at the second cross-ministries meeting on over-tourism preventions.

Japan National Tourism Organization drew up a three-years marketing strategy for inbound travel by 2025 to achieve the government’s goals, focusing on ‘strategy by market,’ ‘cross-market strategy’ and ‘MICR strategy.'

The Japanese government accepted ‘Tourism White Paper 2023,’ which refers to structural challenges in the travel industry. Power to earn in the tourism industry should be strengthened.

The Japanese government approved a new action plan for inbound travel expansion, which more focuses on ‘business,’ ‘academy’ and ‘culture and arts sports and nature’

Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition begins driving ‘Tourism + EXPO’ efforts in earnest to spread effects of the EXPO nationwide. Nobuhiko Hohokabe, Executive Director of Local Community and Tourism Department, talked about ‘Tourism + EXPO.'

Okinawa Prefecture drew up ‘Okinawa Tourism Promotion Roadmap’ to become ‘a sustainable destination to be selected in the world' with KPIs of local communities’ happiness of 90%, tourism revenue of 1.2 trillion JPY.

The Japanese government approved a IR development plan submitted by Osaka Prefecture and Osaka City to develop an integrated resort with an international convention center, hotels and casino in the artificial island ‘Yumeshima’ of Osaka Bay in autumn or winter 2029.

With a three-jabs vaccination certificate, Chinese travelers entering Japan are no longer required PCR-negative certificate 72 hours before departure, and it will be lifted completely when the legal infection status of COVID-19 is lowered to Level 5 in May.